Alberta Tag

18 May 2021 Live and Learn

Well, you live and learn, don’t you? I’m sure you’ve all learned a thing or two. You learned the ropes. Sometimes you learned your lesson. You had to learn the hard way. You learned to live with someone. You learned to live with something. You learned by heart. You learned by rote. You learn something new every day. So, I invite you to join me and continue to live and learn. Do your part The government is consulting with Albertans and is asking for input on the new K-6 curriculum. Many of our...

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18 Sep 2020 Look out Albertans! Bylaw Bob coming to a religious gathering near you!

A wave of conversion therapy bans has spread across the province of Alberta. Maybe not as fast as COVID-19, but fast enough. These by-laws are harsh and heavy-handed. Yet one municipality after another passed them with relative ease. Fort McMurray. St. Albert. Edmonton. Spruce Grove. Rocky Mountain House. And finally Calgary and Lethbridge. Many concerned citizens spoke out. The largest pushback took place in Calgary. There were phone calls, face to face meetings, Zoom teleconferences, and a public hearing with a record number of oral submissions from the public, including...

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09 Jul 2020 Parental Rights and Education in Alberta: A Timeline of Success

Real progress in education! The past two years on the Alberta education front have been anything but dull. To name just a few memories… The court challenge against Bill 24. The emails. The phone calls. The Gideon Project. The appeal hearing and ARPA’s intervention there. The Education Amendment Act. And now, finally, the Choice in Education Act. Below, we've put together a timeline of legislation from limiting parental involvement to legislation promoting the idea that parents know what’s best for their children. An Act to Support Gay Straight Alliances In November 2017, Alberta’s...

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07 May 2020 A Good News Story for Victims of Sexual Exploitation

Good news in Alberta! Bill 8: Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act has recently been tabled. The goal of the bill is to protect survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. In short, the bill helps victims of human trafficking. There are some highlights worth noting: A judge has the ability to grant a protection order to the victim, which means the trafficker cannot get close to, speak to or engage with the victim. The bill adds a tort. A tort refers to a civil clause that allows the victim...

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18 Dec 2019 Edmonton ‘conversion therapy’ bylaw could penalize churches

Last week, Edmonton City Council officially banned “conversion therapy”. The decision was swift and unanimous. The practice and promotion of conversion therapy is prohibited within city limits. Disobedience is costly. The bylaw carries a minimum $10,000.00 fine. The bylaw prohibits any “technique”, “service”, “treatment” or “tactic” aimed at “eliminating or reducing sexual attraction or sexual behaviour between persons of the same sex” or intended to alter a person’s “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or gender preference.” It applies to “businesses” broadly defined (any “profession, trade, occupation, calling, or employment” or...

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29 Nov 2019 What’s going on with Bill 207, Alberta’s conscience rights bill?

    *UPDATE (added Dec. 5): On Monday, December 2, while MLA Dan Williams was speaking on Bill 207, a tragic incident occurred outside the Assembly, which then adjourned. Consequently, Bill 207 was delayed. It will likely be revisited in February 2020, once the legislature resumes. Last week, an Alberta legislative committee voted against Bill 207.  So, is Bill 207 dead? Not quite. Ordinarily, a bill gets debated in the Assembly at second reading. Then, if it passes the “second reading vote”, it goes to an appropriate committee for closer study, where amendments are often...

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20 Nov 2019 Dispelling myths about Alberta’s conscience rights bill

    Bill 207, tabled by Alberta MLA Dan Williams, now faces fierce opposition. The bill proposes protections for health care providers’ freedom of conscience. It is scheduled for a vote at second reading on Monday, November 25. It deserves to pass and proceed to committee for further review and possible improvements.   Bill 207 does not threaten access to health care The primary line of attack is that Bill 207 threatens “access to health care”. “Imagine … a patient being denied access to a therapeutic abortion even if the woman’s life is in danger,”...

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07 Nov 2019 New Alberta bill offers robust protections for freedom of conscience

      We have encouraging news. Dan Williams, MLA for Peace River, Alberta, tabled a bill today that would protect both individual health care providers and health care facilities from being required to provide services that conflict with their religious beliefs, conscientious beliefs, ethical judgment, or cultural traditions. One of the bill’s stated purposes is to provide certainty to health care providers and religious health care organizations with respect to exercising their Charter-protected freedoms of conscience and religion. This is greatly needed in a time when both individual providers and religious health care...

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08 Jul 2019 Bill Hate? Bill Straight? Or Bill Dictate?

  This video brings back memories. Just the mention of those 28 private schools reminds us all of the court challenge against Bill 24. The emails. The phone calls. The Gideon Project. The appeal hearing and ARPA’s intervention therein. The requirements of the Alberta School Act added by Bill 24 caused confusion, tension, and a healthy fear about the future of Reformed education. The communication from the Alberta Education Ministry under the NDP government gave an even stronger indication that the Ministry was unwilling to back down on their demands that every...

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07 Mar 2019 Edmonton Chapter Launch!

ARPA Canada hosted a special presentation in Edmonton on January 30 with about 75 people in attendance. The focus was on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI 123) and its implications for schools in British Columbia and Alberta. Following the presentation, a small group met to relaunch an Edmonton ARPA chapter. These local groups are so valuable for community engagement and activism, and we are confident that the 15 people signed up are committed to keeping the local momentum going. ARPA Canada works closely with these groups to serve and lead...

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